Method of forming and setting chain-stitches.



k 0. P. HOLMES. METHOD OF FORMING AND SETTING CHAIN STITOHBS.

APPLICATION TILED JULY 12, 1906.

1,096,532. Patented May 12,191

Ewen [0v C FcccY'Zes-P' 15071 COLUMBIA PLANDORAPH E0. WAS IIIIIIIIIII c.

UNITED STATES OFFICE.

CHARLES P. HOLMES, 0F LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR T0 SIDNEY W. WINSLOW, 0F BEVERLY, MASSACHUSETTS.

METHOD OF FORMING AND SETTING GHAIN-STITGHES.

To all whom it only convent 7 Be it known that 1, Gnannns 1. Holmes, a citizen ol? the United States, residing at liynn, in the county of Essex and State oi Massachusetts, have invented an improvement in liviethods of Forming and Setting Chain-Stitches, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawing, a specification, like letlers on the drawing representing like parts.

This invention relates to a novel method of :t'orming and setting in materials to be sewed together, the individual stitches of the stitch connnonly known as chain stitch.

One familiar method of forming and setting the stitches ol the chain stitch is to insorta barbed instrument through the loop oi? a previously formed stitch and through the materials to be sewed together, loop the thread about the barbed end of said instrument aml then withdraw the instrument from the materials thus carrying the newly Qormed loop of thread through both the materials and the loop of the previously formed stite i, and then inserting the needle through the last formed loop and through the materials at the point for the next stitch, these operations being repeated for each stitch. The setting of the stitches is sometimes done by the needle or instrument in the act of drawing the loop through the material, the pull of the needleon the loop being suilicient to tighten or set the previously formed stitch. ()ne objection to this method of set ting the stitches is that the thread is apt to he sevr ed at the point where it passes across the hook oi? the needle by the strain necessary to properly set the previous stitch. To overcome this objection it has been proposed to the last termed loop and the previously formed stitch while the needle is inserted through said loop and through the material preparatory to drawing the next loop through, by drawing down on the supply end oi the thread. thus tightel'iing and setting the loop that is now about the needle, this operation also resulting in tightening and further setting the previously formed stitch. While this latter method of setting the stitches is feasible where the materials to be sewed together are of a soft or spongy nature yet it they arehard and non-yield- Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed July 12, 1905.

Patented May 12, 1914.

Serial No. 269.302.

ing, this manner of setting the stitches is apt to cause the thread to break at the point where the last formed loop leaves the material, because at this point the thread is drawn over a sharp edge of the material, and also because it is necessary to apply considerable force to the supply end ol ithe thread to properly set the last formed stitch. In order to overcome these objections I have devised the :l'ollowing method of forming and setting chain stitches. My method consists in first inserting a barbed instrument through the loop of the previously formed stitch and through the materials to be sewed together, drawing or pulling on said loop to set the previously formed stitch while the instrument is thus inserted, this pulling on the loop being done by means other than the instrument, looping the thread about the barbed end of the instrm'i'ient, and then withdrawing said instrument from the materials and thereby drawing through said materials and the previously termed loop a new loop.

It will be noted that my method dillers from the method last above described in that the setting of the previously formed stitch is :nrcomplished by drawing taut on the loop which is about the instrument while it is insorted thrtmgh the materials instead of drawing taut on the supply end of the thread.

My improved method avoids the objections inherent in the method first described above oil setting the chain stitches, because the setting of the stitch not performed by the sharp barbed end of the needle. and it avoids the objections incident to the second described method because the stitch can be set with less strain on the thread than is the case when it is setby drawing on the supply end ol the thrsad and setting the previously formed stitch by drawing the thread around the needle or instrument.

Another advantage of my improved method is that since the previoi[sly-formed stitch is set while the needle is in the materials, said needle operates to hold the said materials firmly in position while the previously-formed stitch is being set.

In its broader aspects my invention contemplates pulling on the loop last drawn out by the needle iii any desired cllrectlon while the needle is in the work. Preferably, however, the pull is exerted on the loop in a direction inclined to the sin-taco of the work, and in the opposite direction to the feed, as thereby the loop of the preceding stitch is drawn down tightly against the work. In this connection it will be noted that when the pull is exerted on the loop drawn out by the needle to set the preceding stitch, the work is stationary, being held against movement by the needle. I believe that it is new to exert a pull on the loop drawn out by the needle in a direction inclined to the surface of the work to set the preceding stitch while the work is stationary, whether or not the needle is in the work, and accordingly I consider a feature of my invention to consist in exerting a pull on the loop of thread last drawn out by the needle in a direction inclined to the surface of the work to set the preceding stitch while the work is stationary, whether or not the needle is at this time in the work.

In the drawings, Figures 1, 2 and 3 illustrate different steps in the operation of forming and setting a stitch according to my invention, and Figs. 4t and illustrate diiierent steps in the method as it may be practised in sewing the uppers of shoes to soles by a properly organized sewing machine.

In Figs. 1, 2 and 3, wherein I have shown how the chain stitch may be formed and set by hand according to my invention, 3, et and 5 designate thicknesses of material which it is desired to sew together; and 6 designates a barbed instrument, such for instance as a hooked needle, which is used for drawing the loops of the stitches through the material. I

The first steps of forming the chain stitch according to my method are similar to those commonly employed, that is, the needle or instrument 6 is inserted through the thickness of the material, and the thread 7 is looped about the barbed end of the needle and the latter is then withdrawn thereby drawing a loop of the thread through the materials. The needle is then inserted through the loop thus formed and through the materials at the point desired for the next stitch, and after the thread 7 is again looped about the needle, said needle is withdrawn through the materials and through the previously formed loop, thus forming a second loop 8, as shown in Fig. 1. The in strument is then inserted through the loop 8 and through the materials at the point desired for the next stitch, as shown in Fig. 2, and the thread then again looped about the barbed end, as shown in Fig. 3, preparatory to the operation of drawing through the materials the loop of the third stitch.

The steps thus far outlined are such as commonly employed in the making of a chain stitch. According to my method, each loop, as, for instance, the loop 8, while it is about the instrument which is inserted through the materials, as shown in Fig. 2, is drawn taut either by hand or by a suitable stitch-setting implement 9, this operation resulting in setting the previously formed stitch 10. The stitch including the loop 8 is set after the next succeeding loop has been drawn through the materials and after the instrument has been again inserted in the materials preparatory to drawing through them the second succeeding loop.

Much less force is required to properly set thestitch 10 when it is set by drawing on the loop 8, than when it is set by drawing on the supply end of the thread which forms said loop 8, and, therefore, by my method the thread is less liable to be broken than in the old method where the stitch-set ting implement acts on the supply end of the thread.

Another important feature of my method is that the pull on the loop 8 to set the stitch 10 is in a direction at a considerable angle to the line of stitching or the face of the materials, as seen best in Fig. 2,- instead of longitudinally of said stitching or parallel to the face of the materials. By pulling on the loop in the direction shown in Fig. 2 the thread is not drawn against the edge of the materials at 28 hard enough to injure the thread as it reeves over this point in the setting of the stitch 10, or to cause itto break even if the materials are of a hard unyielding nature. The pull on the loop 8 is, however, in a direction to causethe loop 10 of the preceding stitch to be drawn tightly against the materials as will be obvious from an inspection of Fig. 2. As will be seen from this figure, the pull on. the loo-p 8 is in a direction to cause the loop to be pulled beyond the point at which the next loop is to be drawn through the material.

In Figs. 4. and 5 I have shown the method as it may be practised in sewing the uppers of shoes to soles by a properly organized sewing machine. In said figures, 11 designates the last, 12 the sole thereon, 13 the up per, 14; the welt, and 15 that portion of the sole between the bottom of the channel 16 and the shoulder 17 through which the stitches pass. 18 designates a hooked needle of any suitable or usual construction, and 19 a looper by which the thread is looped about the needle. I have not shown any means for operating these various parts as such means are well known to any one skilled in the construction of sewing machines of this classv In Fig. 4% the needle has been inserted through the loop 20 of the previously formed stitch and through the materials, and the looper has just looped the thread 7 around the barbed end of the needle; and in Fig.

5 the needle has been withdrawn from the materials and from the loop 20 thereby carrying through the materials and the loop and loop 21 of the stitch being formed; the needle is then, while still in serted through the loop 21, again inserted through the materials preparatory to drawing another loop of thread through the materials.

22 designates a suitable stitch-setting device which is adapted to engage the loop 20 for instance while the needle is in the position shown in Fig. 4, said stitch-setting device acting to draw on said loop in the direction of the arrow a thereby tightening and setting the previously formed stitch 23.

It will be noted again that the pull on the loop 20 is more nearly at a right angle to the face of the materials than parallel thereto. If the pull on said loop were in a longitudinal direction or parallel to the face of the materials, the thread would be liable to be broken at the point 25 where it passes over the edge of the material, especially if the materials were comparatively unyielding, but this liability is entirely avoided by pulling on the loop 20 in substantially the direction of the arrow at, Fig. 4:.

There is a particular advantage gained in setting the previously-formed stitch while the needle is in the material, and this advantage is especially apparent where the method is employed in a machine adapted to stitch shoes or other materials. In these machines the needle is carried by a needlebar, and has a movement in a definite direction, and so long as the needle is in the stock the materials being sewed are not likely to be displaced by the pull on the lasttormed loop which is given to set the previously-formed stitch. This is an important feature of the invention, because the likelihood of the thread being broken by improper movement of the material while the stitch is being set is entirely avoided.

The principal feature of my invention consists in drawing on the loop which is loose about the needle when the latter is inserted in the materials, thereby to set the previously :t'ormed stitch.

My invention can be practised by hand in sewing shoes or other material as well as by a machine, and I make no claim in this application to any particular mechanism for carrying out the method.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. The method of forming and setting stitches of a chain stitch, which consists in inserting a barbed instrument through the materials to be sewed and through the lastformed loop, exerting a pull on both sides of said last-formed loop while it is still looped about the instrument in a direction inclined to the lineof the seam, thereby setting said previously formed stitch and maintaining the instrument in the material while the previously formed stitch is thus being set.

2. The method of forming and setting the stitches of a chain stitch which consists in inserting a barbed instrument through a previously formed loop and through the material to be sewed, looping the thread about the barbed end of the instrument, withdrawing the instrument and thereby drawing a new loop of thread through the material and through the previously formed loop, and exerting a pull on both sides of the new loop to pull said loop beyond the point at which the next loop is to be drawn through the material to cause the preceding loop to be drawn down against the material and a stitch setting strain to be exerted on the seam.

3. The method of forming and setting the stitches of a chain stitch which consists in inserting a barbed instrument through a previously formed loop and through the material to be sewed, looping the thread about the barbed end of the instrument withdrawing the instrument and thereby drawing a new loop of thread through the material and through the previously formed loop, and exerting a pull on both sides of the new loop while the work is stationary in a direction inclined to the surface of the work and the line of the seam and away from and forwardly of the previously formed stitches to exert a stitch setting strain on the seam.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

CHARLES P. HOLMES.

\Vitnesses Louis C. SMITH, MARGARET A. DUNN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. C. 

